


A performance

by Ellestrade



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 04:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9861827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellestrade/pseuds/Ellestrade
Summary: Since he split from his wife, Greg's mother has been insistent that she meets the 'special somebody' in his life, always trying to persuade him to come and visit. While Greg does not have anyone in his life, he agrees to take the trip. And somewhere in a friendly drunken evening spent together with Mycroft, he volunteers to accompany him.“I can accompany you” Mycroft said, his face indifferent.“I can see myself out, it’s fine” Greg replied waving a hand and turning towards the door “You get back to your call”“The phone can wait a few moments. As for that comment, I do not mean to accompany you from this parlour.”





	

Greg sighed, throwing the latest case file down, hard, on his desk. Slumping back into his chair he ran his hands through his hair before letting out a low growl of frustration. Donavon had followed him into his office and closed the door behind her. He had worked himself up on this case for no reason at all, it was no worse than others that they had, but this one was getting to him and he had no idea why.

“They have got to be bloody joking!” Greg shouted at the sergeant “Four weeks and still no compelling evidence, everything in this file is useless” he motioned the file that was laying abandoned on the desk, a few small pieces of paper had flown out in his anger of throwing it onto the table and he shoved them roughly off the desk.

“Greg, you have got to calm down, just go home get some rest and come back to this tomorrow, it’s no use you getting all worked up” Donavon told him picking up the bits of scattered paper.

“Yeah, and what use will going home do? These guys are clever, we’re still not going to have any substantial evidence tomorrow are we?” The detective inspectors voice was still raised.

“Just go home Greg” Sally said as she turned and left his office. Greg resisted the urge to throw something and instead he pulled his phone from his pocket typing a quick message out, before reviewing it and deleting it. He sighed and shrugged into his coat, he was a fool to think about texting Mycroft. The government official was probably not free for drinks and he laughed to himself for even entertaining the idea. Yes, they had drinks together occasionally and it was nice, Mycroft’s company was rather enjoyable once you got past the ‘iceman’ exterior, however, their time spent together was often scheduled and was never really out of the blue. Greg smiled, thinking back to their last evening they had spent together, they had a companionable meal together followed by a nice game of chess in front of the fire, copious amounts of whiskey and even Mycroft was beginning to flag. That had been the one and only time that Greg had _nearly_ won the game, maybe that was the key, even more whiskey on the next occasion.

Hastily, he shoved his phone into his pocket and headed out of his office. He stopped for a quick word with the desk sergeant and informed them to not let anyone bother him tonight, he was going to take Sally’s advice and head home and not think about the case until the morning. Since he still had a few cans of lager in his fridge it didn’t seem like such a bad idea. The desk sergeant bade him goodnight and Greg headed out of the station and towards his BMW. The appearance of a familiar black car cut him short and he stopped in his tracks as the back door swung open. Smiling slightly to himself he climbed in and leant back against the cool leather seats. Clearly Mycroft had been having similar thoughts on when their next meeting should be. Greg said a quick hello to the driver before he started the engine and headed off in the direction of the Diogenes club. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, about to text the man responsible for this, when it rang in his hand, his Mother’s name appearing on screen. Sighing quietly to himself he realised he had been ignoring his family for a while now, no doubt his mother was beginning to worry.

 “Hello” he said dryly as he answered

“Oh Greg, darling, it’s so nice to speak to you!” his mother’s voice trilled to him on the other end of the line “How have you been, it’s been an age since we’ve heard from you”

“Fine,” the detective answered “Just been busy with work, you know how it is”

“Oh, you always have worked yourself hard, you just make sure you’re taking care of yourself” she replied

“Don’t worry, I have some holiday days I need to book in before the end of the year, I should get a decent rest then.” He mentally kicked himself the second those words came out of his mouth. Whenever his mother rang it always ended with her inviting him up to spend a week or so with his family, which he politely declined due to not being able to get the required time off work. There went that excuse this time. 

“So, if you’ve been busy working, you haven’t found yourself someone special yet?” his mother cooed down the phone, another reason why he tended to ignore her calls. Yes, it had been two years since he and his wife had officially decided to split and no, he had not found anyone in that time. That was fine by him, relationships created unnecessary drama anyway.

“Listen, mum, I’ll have to call you back I’ve just got to a friend’s place” Greg said, the car was only minutes away from its destination and he desperately wanted to get out of _that_ conversation.

“Gregory!” His mother’s tone changed as she tried to get him to remain on the line “If you even think about hanging up on me when we haven’t spoken in months you’ve got another thing coming!”

Greg sighed thinking about whether to just end the call anyway before deciding against it “I really do have to go, I’ve just arrived somewhere, they’re expecting me in any second”

“This wouldn’t happen to be your special someone’s place now would it Greg?” His mother asked happily.

“What? No, this is just a friend” Greg spluttered

“Ooooh, I’ve heard that before Gregory, when you were younger, ensuring me and your dad that all these girls you had over were just friends, we know you Greg!” she laughed to which Greg expressed an audible groan, his mother continued as though she hadn’t heard it “So, being as you have all of this holiday to take, me and your father can expect a visit sometime in the next month or so, you can bring your lovely friend with you, I’m dying to meet them!”

“No, mum listen—” she cut him off before he had a chance to object

“The last weekend of the month would be great for us, oh I really can’t wait to see you Greg, your Father will be thrilled as well once I tell him you’re coming. Oh, Greg you really have made my day!” She went on and on and he didn’t have the heart to tell her that he wouldn’t be coming, moreover that he wouldn’t have anyone to bring with him.

“Listen mum I really do have to go now, I’ll see you soon alright?” Greg managed to get out

“Yes, okay darling, see you soon” Greg hung up before he could make the situation worse, he looked up shocked to see that they had already arrived.

“Sir?” said the driver turning around to look at Greg.

“Yes, sorry, thank you” Greg mumbled before climbing out of the car and heading up the stairs to the club. The first time he had been here he had felt overly intimidated by the buildings towering exterior, now though he pushed through the doors with confidence and strode down the hallway to the room that was Mycroft’s parlour. He knocked lightly on the door and was greeted by the taller man smiling, whiskey in hand offering it to him as a way of greeting. The younger man was looking well presented as always, suit and hair both immaculate. A rich navy blue pinstriped suit was todays ensemble, perfectly fitted of course, matching waistcoat and a deep red tie that complimented wonderfully. Greg gave him a quick once over before gratefully accepting the drink with a smile, it had probably been a month or so since the last time they had spent time together, a month too long if Greg was honest with himself.

“I see you’re trying to start me on the drink early today,” Greg smirked as he entered the room closing the door behind himself “you don’t want another repeat of the last chess game!”

“Thought you might need it actually” Mycroft replied raising his eyebrows slightly “after the day you’ve had.”

Greg had long since given up on asking how or why Mycroft was aware of such things, truth be told he thought he’d rather not know.

“Yeah, right, thanks” Greg replied shrugging his jacket off and hanging it neatly on the cloak stand. Sinking down onto one of the leather armchairs in front of the fire, he allowed himself to relax and bask in the atmosphere. The fire was lit and emanating a pleasant woody aroma, there was no other source of light in the room apart from an antique Tiffany lamp that stood in the corner of the room. Mycroft had taken the adjacent armchair and was gazing into the distance, looking deep in thought. Light from the fire was flickering gracefully across his face, Greg forced himself to look away before he was caught staring, though knowing Mycroft he was probably already aware. “It has been a rough day” Greg finished

“I know” Mycroft answered “Hence why I sent the car”

“A true saint” Greg muttered

“One does try” Mycroft quirked “Although one would have thought that you could have used my little brothers help on this case, seems a bit tough for you does it not?”

Greg knew he was joking, well as much as Mycroft Holmes could joke about anything, but that didn’t stop it from hitting a nerve. Being a fully qualified, well respected, Detective Inspector didn’t mean anything these days, especially as the entirety of London knew that Sherlock was the one that solved most of his cases. Well, he could get along perfectly fine on his own, it may just take a little longer than if he had the consulting detective by his side.

“I am perfectly capable of solving cases on my own!” Greg snapped, to which the government official looked slightly taken aback.

“My, one is tense tonight are they not?” Mycroft glanced at Greg’s now empty glass and in one swift motion the decanter was in his hand and refilling the empty tumbler, this time making sure to pour one for himself.

“Sorry” Greg grumbled, raising his glass slightly in thanks for the refill. Mycroft lifted his slightly in response, they were both quiet for a few minutes while they drank. “It’s just you know how it is, I solve the case, John blogs about it and suddenly everyone knows it wasn’t me, I just feel like a laughing stock these days.”

“Indeed” Mycroft replied “You will manage, of course you will”

Greg smiled, Mycroft didn’t need to be nice about it, he knew full well that Mycroft probably didn’t have an ounce of confidence that Greg could solve this case.

“Aside from this case, how has your day been?” asked Mycroft

“I’m sure you could probably tell me word for word how my day has gone, if you know enough to send the car” Greg laughed

“Well yes, but this is what people do is it not?” Mycroft smiled “They make conversation and talk about their days as if they did not really know what had happened. And anyway, it is nicer to hear it from you.”

“People yes, you are not normally considered as people though, are you Mycroft” Greg said as he was smirking.

“One does try on occasion” Mycroft retorted “How was your day Gregory?”

“Tiresome” Greg smiled meekly and then groaning as he remembered the conversation he had with his Mother on the car journey over. Mycroft gave him a questioning look but did not press the matter.

“How would dinner cheer you up?” Mycroft asked

As if on cue Greg’s stomach rumbled as he realised he had not got a chance to eat all day. Mycroft usually sent an assistant to one of his preferred restaurants to have a meal bought back for them. The food was usually delicious, even if the portions could be on the small side, which just fuelled his hunger. “I’m starving”

“Good I’ll have Anthea send someone out right away, are you happy with the usual”

“Sounds wonderful”

It was around an hour until Anthea reappeared knocking on the door bringing the food and a delicious smell along with her, she set the bags down on the table and retreated quickly, smiling as she went. Mycroft headed into the kitchen to retrieve plates and wine, while Greg pulled a couple of glasses from the cupboard. They both settled together at the table, Mycroft poured the wine as Greg plated up. He tried hard not to turn his nose up at Mycroft’s usual: Asparagus, pecorino and lemon risotto. His own meal, chicken arrabbiatta, looked and smelt gorgeous, he couldn’t wait to tuck in. They didn’t talk much through the meal, only to comment on the flavours, they never did, both just concentrating on the food and enjoying the companionable silence of eating with another person. Greg rarely ate with another person, a general night consisted of heading home after his shift, cracking open a can and cooking something quick and easy. There was no point to cooking, when it was just making a meal for himself. He went to the pub occasionally, with a few others from the yard, but that was different. Eating at the pub was not the same as sharing a meal with someone like this. 

“This is exactly what I needed today” Leaning back in his chair, Greg smiled “Thanks”

“Indeed” Mycroft replied as he poured the remains of the wine between their two glasses. Greg bought his to his lips and smiled, he had hoped, when he was back in his office, that his day would come to end like this. He had never thought that it would, the fact that Mycroft had even noticed that he had a terrible day made his stomach flutter, just a little. Though he put that down to the copious amount of alcohol he had drank. He finished his wine and moved to stand up and clear the table.

“You need not worry about clearing the table Gregory” Mycroft said “Anthea can get someone to do that later”

“It’s no worry at all, honestly” Greg smiled at the auburn-haired man and took the plates and glasses into the small kitchen area and began to fill the sink.

“Leave that” Greg jumped at the sound of Mycroft’s voice suddenly behind him, he turned the tap off twisting round to face Mycroft, he shivered at how close they suddenly were and his eyes inadvertently slowly found themselves looking at his lips. Mycroft’s voice suddenly made him realise where he was looking he quickly averted his eyes. “I thought you may want to play that game of chess, being as we have both drank consistent amounts of alcohol tonight. You know, give you a chance to make you think you may win.”

“What makes you think I won’t win?” Greg asked smiling and taking a step back, he knew full well he would never win and he knew that Mycroft knew that as well. Mycroft just laughed in response and headed back through to the other room, Greg followed grabbing the decanter of Whiskey from the table and filling Mycroft’s glass.

“Drink” Greg ordered “It’s hardly a fair game if we have both drank the same amount”

“I would disagree” Countered Mycroft, but he bought the glass to his lips regardless “My tolerance to drink is a lot lower than yours, therefore it takes much less time for the drink to affect my head than it does yours” he downed the glass and it was immediately refilled by Greg, who poured his own this time. He sat across from Mycroft at his chess table, balancing the drink decanter to the side.

“Well I don’t want to take any chances” Greg smiled. He knew it was futile, he wasn’t going to win, Mycroft would probably have his own win mapped out after Greg had made his first move, probably before.

“Well go on then, Gregory” Mycroft said bringing his tumbler to his lips, making sure to look Greg right in the eyes “Make your move”

Greg coughed, eyes heavy, looking down at the table and breaking the eye contact. He could still feel Mycroft’s gaze burning into him, trying hard to ignore it, he stared at the board trying to decide on which pawn to move, which one would Mycroft expect him to move. It didn’t help that he could feel the effects of the alcohol; his head was beginning to feel fuzzy and he was wondering if the only reason Mycroft was looking at him was because of the game. Of course, it was only because of the game, it wasn’t because he had developed feelings for the detective and was currently fighting the urge to lean across the table and kiss him. Greg looked up at the sudden thought of Mycroft kissing him, his gaze landing on his lips for the second time that evening and he shook himself out of it, _the game_ he reminded himself _they were playing chess nothing more._ Not paying attention to which pawn he moved, just needing to focus on something other than the man he was currently sitting opposite, he moved it forward two spaces and then leant back sipping his whiskey.

“An interesting move Gregory” Mycroft smiled, his own go was had in seconds and he leant forwards resting his chin on his hands “your turn”

Greg grinned as he moved a piece, he knew he wasn’t going to win, was there any point in even trying to make up any kind of a plan. He decided there was _definitely_ no point in trying to form a plan when, once again, Mycroft took his move immediately after Greg’s.

“You didn’t elaborate earlier, after you said your day had been tiresome, what else happened?” Mycroft asked looking at Greg from across the table

“Trying to distract me are you by asking about my day again?” Greg replied

“Not at all, just a concerned party”

Greg snorted “Since when were you a concerned party, Mycroft?”

“I can be concerned in areas in which it is deemed necessary”

“My day causes you concern?” Greg asked risking a glance at the government official, he was looking down at his glass, fingers drumming against the side of it.

“Indeed” he replied looking up from his hands and meeting the detective’s eyes with his own, Greg’s heart missed a beat at the intensity in which they were both looking at each other. Neither of the men broke the stare for a few seconds, it was the sound of Mycroft’s phone ringing that startled them both into averting their eyes. Mycroft glanced at the phone, silencing it and placing it in his pocket. The moment had passed though, Greg coughed and moved a piece, not paying attention.

“You could have taken the call” Greg muttered

“It was of no importance, nothing that cannot wait until the morning” Mycroft smiled as he took his go, taking one of Greg’s pieces as he went. “Now, back to the matter at hand, who was the source of concern in your car journey?”

“It really doesn’t matter” Greg smiled, eying up the pieces he had, trying to find the most tactical play. Mycroft quirked an eyebrow and shook his head slightly as Greg’s hand hovered over his next move. Smiling, Greg let his hand hover over another piece and upon getting no signal from Mycroft, he moved his knight instead.

“My mother rang, that’s all” Greg muttered as he took another sip of his whiskey “we haven’t spoken in a while and she wants me to go and spend some time at my family home, before the end of the year.”

“Quite,” Mycroft answered “mothers tend to get like that, a rather annoying habit.”

“You can say that again, I’ve had it coming though, I’ve been avoiding her calls for a long time” Greg grimaced as he recalled their conversation.

“What else?” Mycroft pushed, his eyes flickering across Greg’s face

“She, for some reason, is insisting that I bring my partner to meet the family when I take the trip up”

Mycroft looked taken aback for a second before he leant back and laughed “You do not have a partner Gregory”

“My singlehood is not funny Mycroft Holmes” Greg said, but he too couldn’t help but laugh. The fact that Mycroft even paid enough attention to his life, to note that he did not have a partner was funny enough to him. Mycroft Holmes, the government official, more preoccupied with following up on Greg’s love life. He could barely contain his laughter, though his life was not something that he often laughed at, when looking at it in this context the hilarity was poignant. He was staring at Mycroft, the way that his eyes creased when he was laughing, the way that laughter lines defined his face and made him glow, were not something that he got to appreciate often.

“Of course not.” Mycroft smiled and was met with the detective smiling back at him. Greg shuffled uncomfortably, too many times in the evening had he been seen staring at the auburn-haired man, dopey eyed and a smile stretched across his face, he blamed it on the alcohol, one hundred percent. Mycroft’s phone started to ring again, once again cutting through the moment and for the second-time Greg was thankful. Mycroft pulled it out of his pocket and frowned.

“This one I must take Gregory, I am sorry you have to see yourself out.” Mycroft pushed his chair back giving Greg an apologetic look and headed into the small kitchen area answering the phone as he went, closing the door behind him. Greg stayed where he was for a few seconds trying to comprehend all that had happened that evening before realising that while his head was in the state that it was, comprehending anything in a coherent manor was not going to work. He tidied the pieces away and put the whiskey decanter back on the correct table, he was just in the process of retrieving his coat when the kitchen door reopened. Mycroft stood at the door, his hand covering the speaker on his phone.

“I can accompany you” He said his face indifferent.

“I can see myself out, it’s fine” Greg replied waving a hand and turning towards the door “You get back to your call.”

“The phone can wait a few moments. As for that comment, I do not mean to accompany you from this parlour.”

Greg opened his mouth and then closed it, surely, he did not mean he would accompany him on his trip “Mycroft...I…”

“Oh, do stop stuttering Gregory, it is not at all pleasing. If you wish, I can accompany you on your small holiday. Your mother is expecting a guest, we know each other well, would it not make your trip more bearable?”

The complete nonchalance of the way Mycroft was speaking had shocked Greg to the core, he was acting as though this was a completely different situation.

“Mycroft…this trip…my mother isn’t expecting me to bring just a friend, she thinks I’m in a relationship.”

“Yes, I am aware of what you meant Gregory. I can schedule some time off, it would be nice to get away from the city for a while.”

“You realise what a relationship entails, what my family expect”

“Gregory if you do not wish for me to come with you, that is fine, I was just suggesting that is all” Mycroft smiled but it did not reach his eyes. It wouldn’t be terrible if Mycroft joined him, it may be strange, but the company of someone he knew well would be appreciated. And anyway, just because his mother believed them to be in a relationship did not mean they had to fawn over each other every minute. The real question, Greg knew he did not want to face, was whether he could emotionally comply with this situation, especially after this night. To hell with it.

“No, your company would be welcome, a pleasant distraction in coping with my family.”

This time Mycroft’s smile caused the skin at the corner of his eyes to crinkle “Wonderful, now, I am sure we can arrange details at a later date. Goodnight Gregory” Mycroft pulled the phone back to his ear and once again closed the door to the kitchen.

Greg headed out of Mycroft’s parlour and down the corridor to the exit. By the time he was sat in the back of the black car, that was idling at the curb, waiting for him, he was not entirely sure if he had imagined that last conversation.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
